Afternoon Update

According to Steve Goff, the Fire had an interview with Real Salt Lake assistant Robin Fraser this past week.

Fraser, who will turn 43 in a week, played 10 years in MLS, winning the defender of the year award in 1999 and 2004. He was hired as an assistant at RSL in the middle of the 2007 season.

Fraser's name has been tossed around this offseason as a candidate for other MLS head coaching jobs - including D.C.'s until recently.

Debunking the Conde rumors:

Worried the Fire would be losing center back Wilman Conde this offseason? Don't be.

The 27-year-old Conde publicly demanded a trade to New York after former Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio - who coached Conde in Colombia and brought him to the Fire - left Chicago for the Red Bulls in 2007. Things got a bit testy for Conde shortly after making his demand, and he struggled for playing time and even got into a "fistfight" with Cuauhtemoc Blanco towards the start of the 2008 regular season. But Conde, who still has one year remaining on his contract with the Fire, turned things around this past season, and now he has the Fire completely unwilling to part ways with him.

"Wilman's got a year left in his contract and he's going to be here next year," Technical Director Frank Klopas said.

Attracting players without a head coach:

With no head coach in place and the team's on-field philosophy still in limbo, the Fire is relying on its immediate surroundings to attract would-be members of the team.

"We're in a big market city so that's something that's attractive to a lot of players," Klopas said. "I think that whether [the head coach is] here or not with [the club's] history, with the way it's moving forward with an ownership that's committed, with a great stadium in Toyota Park, with a great fan base and being in a big market like this is attractive to a lot of people. It's a solid point in itself."

Klopas is spot on with this issue. The Fire shouldn't have anything to worry about in terms of attracting players this offseason.

That's not really amazing news about Conde. It just says that he isn't leaving, not that he is happy here. We are going to lose him next year no matter what. So don't be surprised if we sell him in the summer to a South American side or overseas if he can get a permit.

Hey, just throwing it out there, but what about Klopas being the Head Coach? He seems to care a lot about everything, and he also seems to be pretty intelligent. Of course, he doesn't fulfill all of the requirements needed,(biased) but still, he seems to know what the fans want and he is in sync with everybody.